Tag Archives: Columbia River

Back in Washington! 7/24/13 to 7/31/13

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Pool Party at Camp Cameron!

Pool Party at Camp Cameron!

It felt great driving back into Washington and the Pacific Time Zone!  We stopped in Kennewick for a nice visit with Mike’s dad before our destination in Yakima.  As we pulled up the driveway to Sunny & Mitch’s (aka Camp Cameron), we were greeted with the best ever welcome sign (see pic below).  The annual pool party didn’t officially start until Friday, but they let us roll in a bit early on Wed.   My mom drove over from Bellevue and Sunny’s parents, Jerry & Ann, were there, so we had a great couple of days catching up, BBQing and hanging by the pool before the big group arrived.  What a treat to have my mom come over and spend some time together.  Loved it!

Our welcome at Camp Cameron

Our welcome at Camp Cameron

Our RV Site - pretty sweet!

Our RV Site – pretty sweet! (Lana & Traci)

On Friday, we had a group of 12 golfing at Apple Tree and it was toasty!  The pool was a welcome site that afternoon.  The rest of the group arrived that afternoon/evening and the festivities were on.  Food, drink, music, games, pool, hot tub, sunshine and good friends catching up – it doesn’t get much better than that!  As usual it was a huge success and the Cameron’s were gracious hosts as always!  Most people left on Sunday/Monday, but we stayed one more day until Tuesday.  So far, Camp Cameron has been our favorite RV Park!

Life is good!

Life is good! (Sunny & Traci)

We rolled out of Yak on Tuesday morning enroute to Wenatchee and the Pflugrath’s (aka Casa de Pflu).  Their neighbors allowed us to park the MoHo in their driveway and we slept inside the house, which was actually a treat.  Shelly & Marc are babysitting our bed while we are on the road, so it was nice to sleep in it again!  They wined & dined us and we enjoyed their back patio and amazing view.  The smoke from the fires was starting to settle in; hopefully it doesn’t repeat the horrible smoke they had last year.

On Wednesday morning we had a little excitement.  Mike ran over to the MoHo to get some stuff out and he discovered a rattlesnake resting comfortably under the back tires.  It certainly got his attention for the next 20 minutes until it slithered back into the bushes down the hill.  We called Marc to see what we should do and he told us “stay away from it.”  Thanks Marc, genius.  Shell & I went to get much needed pedi’s, met the boys for lunch then took the boat out on the River.  We were enjoying the calmness of the river and just getting settled near the sandbars, when we noticed that a storm was brewing – wind and rain.  We decided we better head in, but when we tried to start the engine it was DEAD.   Looking around there was no one left on the river due to the bad weather, so Marc had to swim into shore walk down to the closest boat launch to get someone to tow us in while Mike, Shell & I tried to keep the boat from blowing into the rocks.  Can you say cluster!  We made it home about 3 hours later than we wanted, but safely and laughing about it.  Stopped at McGlinn’s for takeout and enjoyed another fantastic evening at Casa de Pflu.

The calm before the storm

The calm before the storm (Traci & Shelly)

Heading up to Canada today for 2 weeks!  Can’t wait.  First stop is Penticton/Summerland.  Wi-Fi will be very rare and spotty for us and we have turned off the data on our phones, so it may be awhile before we can post.

 

Sweet Victory and Maryhill State Park – 5/22/13

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Maryhill State Park - Columbia River Gorge (Mike & Mitch)

Maryhill State Park – Columbia River Gorge (Mike & Mitch)

Knights win, Knights win, Knights win!! The WVC Knights win the NWAACC Women’s Fast Pitch Tournament for the first time in school history! Very exciting and huge congrats to the players and our great friend coach Pflugrath.

WVC Knights Fast Pitch - NWAACC champs!

WVC Knights Fast Pitch – NWAACC champs!

We left Portland on Monday afternoon, a bit later than we had hoped. When we were in the RV Park in Portland, we had to switch spaces for the last night as someone who rents there long term had reserved our site, no big deal to move a few spaces over for them. But in the process, Mike noticed an issue with the leveling jacks (there are stabilizing “feet” that gently lift the MoHo off the ground when parked to keep it more stable and relieve some pressure off the tires). After finally getting the jacks retracted, there was obviously a need to have a professional look at it, as they weren’t working correctly. Few phone calls and we found a place around the corner to drop the MoHo for the day while at the game. Unfortunately, they were not able to fix it, and gave us a few numbers to try. As we were heading out of Portland toward our next destination, Maryhill State Park, we decided there wasn’t a rush to get it repaired, we will make due until Bend.

Arrived at the park, and our great friends Sunny and Mitch were there waiting for us to spend the nights as our first house guests!  They went to the tourney as well and this was a place to stop and spend a night together on their way home to Yakima. It was a gorgeous, calm day on the Columbia River, which is very rare this time of year. We had a great night sitting by the fire and meeting some fun ladies camping next to us, two sisters on an 8-day trip. Have a blast Rebecca and Laura! That night we got Mitch to agree they would stay one more night!!

Next day the weather turned a bit and the rain and cold arrived.  We headed out to do some local wine tasting. First stop was the Waving Tree Vineyards & Winery. The owners were there labeling some bottles, and invited us in for some wine. Evelyn & Terrance, great people with lots of local knowledge. We bought a case of vino from them between the four of us.  Very reasonably priced and nice quality wines, would go back anytime! Evelyn told us of a place down the road about 30 minutes where we might want to go for a quick adventure. The Klickitat River runs down a very steep canyon where Native fisherman stand on wooden platforms and use huge long poles to “dip” into the river to catch Salmon and Steelhead. She gave us perfect directions and we went for it. When we arrived, the place was vacant, but quickly someone showed up and he was “dipping” his long pole instantly. First “dip” and there was a very nice 6-8 pound salmon in his pole, wow! He proceeded to catch a total of four fish in the next 30 minutes while we explored around the fish ladder area. We talked to him on the way out and he said the platform he uses has been in his family since his grandfather. During the fall salmon run, he and his family can pull out over a ton of fish in a day — 2,000 lbs of salmon! Something we would love to come back a see in person!

Fisherman on the Klickitat

Fisherman on the Klickitat

Quick stop at the Maryhill Winery (one of the most amazing views you will ever have at any winery in the world, and summer concerts are amazing here!) on the way back to the campground. Returned to the MoHo for dinner, and the wind and rain were there in force. Mike decided to try the microwave/convection oven and cook up our pork loin inside vs. out in the weather on the grill. We set it up and 35 minutes later we had a perfectly prepared dinner, some very nice wine, followed by a long game of Dominoes. (The girls crushed the boys!)

View at Maryhill Winery - Cameron's & Miller's

View at Maryhill Winery – Cameron’s & Miller’s

Yummy dinner in the MoHo!

Yummy dinner in the MoHo!

Next morning, Sunny and Mitch are out early heading back home.  Thanks for staying with us for a couple of nights; we will see you in July! There is heavy rain and cold weather expected in our next location, Bend, Oregon. But, it is looking better for Memorial Day weekend.  Our plan is to stay for 4-5 days and try to get the MoHo maintenance taken care of. Talk to you all soon!